In rural Australia, women are regarded as the backbone for communities, as they play crucial roles in the past, present and future of our society. One third of women in Australia live in rural areas, however mainly during the early 1900s, rural Australia was predominantly male dominated. Rural women were expected to work in homes, care for children and often manage farms; being the supporting role in the family. These tremendous efforts commonly would go unrecognised. The harsh realities that these women had to experience, especially women working in the agricultural industry, meant that there were significant challenges and geographical barriers they had to face, such as occupational segregation, which is still present today, and the gender pay gap. 

However after decades of economic, social and political transformations, with strong endeavours, many rural women, such as the Country Women’s association of Australia (CWA or CWAA) are lobbying and fighting gender discrimination, showing the importance of rural women. The CWAA is a not-for-profit organisation formed in 1945 and founded by Ruth Fairfax. It is the largest women’s organisation in Australia, comprising of 44,000 members and 1855 branches throughout Australia. Their objective is to advance the rights and equity of women in Australia through advocacy and empowerment.
“The aims of the CWAA include:
•To raise the standards of living of rural women and families.
•To provide practical support to its members
•To give rural women a political voice in international levels. “ 

This group of rural women assisted those in need during the Great Depression by making food and clothing, and provided meals and made camouflage nets for Australian troops during World War II. Not only did these women create a sense of community for rural Australians by involvement in many recreational activities, they stood up for what they thought was right. Improvements that have been lobbied by these women, include compulsory seatbelts, white lines on the edges of roads and flashing lights in school zones which now seem essential and have significantly improved the lives of Australians to date. Currently, CWAA works with associations to help relieve people affected by many different disasters such as fire and drought. During hard times with drought in December of 2020, CWAA assisted Australian farmers and families to be able to pay for essential items such as groceries and fuel. These rural women offer strong support and compassion to their peers to help build resilient communities within rural Australia.